Transportation and Antigua Guatemala - our new transportation hub

Antigua - Guatemala's #1 tourist destination. It wasn't contemplated in our original plans, but for some of you we think that it could be a fortunate coincidence and result of logistical issues.

Everyone has a different flight time both in and out, but we don't want people travelling alone or trying to find their own way from the airport to La Casa Colibrí. So we have tentatively bunched people up on private shuttles with particular schedules. We will cover the cost of these private shuttles. Some of you whose flights don't line up perfectly with the shuttle schedule will have a morning or a night to spare. We don't recommend that you spend that time in Guatemala City (see the Security in Guatemala Post), and we DO recommend that you spend it in Antigua Guatemala. Antigua, as it is known, is located about 45 minutes to one hour from the Guatemala City airport, and while it is not exactly on the way to the lake, it is in its general direction. On the map below, you can see Antigua Guatemala about 40 km west of Guatemala City, and Lake Atitlan about 100 km west of the city.

Antigua is a stop for almost all tourists to Guatemala for its colonial architecture and ruins, near-perfect climate and picturesque surroundings and its cosmopolitan culture. It is a World Cultural Heritage Site. It was the colonial capital of Guatemala and at points of Central America. Severely damaged in an earthquake around the time of the American Revolution, it was abandoned for today's Guatemala City. This spelled short-term doom for the city but long-term benefits, as the lack of development preserved the colonial architecture for centuries. Today this architecture, "charm," "feel," makes Antigua an excellent place to stay. I am very wistful of my Peace Corps days when I had an excuse to go to Antigua every couple months for Peace Corps meetings there.

What should you do with a few hours there? These are just some quick personal highlights and ideas (Q. 7.8 = $1.00):

Convento de las Capuchinas. A beautiful 17th-century convent on 2 Calle, 2 Avenida still in excellent condition. Hire a tour guide for Q. 50 and he or she will tell you about every detail of daily convent life and the structures built to facilitate them. Q. 40 for foreigners.

Central Park. Just hang out for a while and people watch in the beautiful central park. But do expect to be offered things to buy by indigenous women. Free.

Walk to Cerro La Cruz. This is about a 30-40 minute hike from the central park to the city's viewpoint. 1 Avenida Norte. Free.

Watch Volcan de Fuego in the morning. True to its name, most mornings Volcán de Fuego is angrily steaming southwest of the city.

Iglesia La Merced. One of the biggest and most beautiful churches in Antigua. End of Calle del Arco. Q. 5.

Iglesia San Francisco. Church with extensive grounds with ruins and a museum to Hermano Pedro, Guatemala's only official saint. 7 Calle, 1 Avenida. Q. 10.

Catedral. It's interesting to look at both the current cathedral, which is lit up beautifully at night, and the cathedral ruins behind it. Off the Central Park. Q. 3.

La Azotea Coffee Plantation. A bus will pick you up in the central park and drive you to one of the many coffee plantations around Antigua, but this one separates itself by having English-language tours, an informative coffee museum and an annex Mayan music museum. Jocotenango. Q. 50.

Valhalla Macadamia Nut Farm. This is a little further away and requires a taxi ride or chicken bus trip, but it's interesting. Learn about organic agriculture, macadamia nuts and business as social enterprise. Free; food to buy; taxi might cost Q. 40 each way, chicken bus Q. 3 per person each way. Ciudad Vieja camino a San Miguel Dueñas.

Chocolate-Making. I haven't done this, but apparently it is very popular nowadays.

And to eat:

Doña Luisa Xicotenatl. Very good place to go for breakfast or brunch. Breakfasts, sandwiches, pastries. Great ambience, can be crowded. 4 Calle Oriente. Q. 40 pp.

Sabe Rico. Also in the sandwich / pastries area, but more innovative and completely natural ingredients. 6 Avenida Norte. Q. 60 pp.

La Fonda de la Calle Real. Quality Guatemalan dishes from different parts of the country. Calle del Arco. Q. 80 pp.

Frida's. Mexican food and innovative margaritas. Calle del Arco. Q. 80 pp.

Sobremesa. Innovative dishes and an enjoyably eccentric American owner. 3 Calle Poniente. Q. 120 pp.

There are plenty of nightlife options too, drinking and Latin dancing, depending on what day of the week you are there. Ask me for more specific info.

Here are some websites to look at:

AntiguaGuatemala.info

Ideas of great things to do

If you are able to come down for the wedding, you'll be able to enjoy not only us (whom of course you will enjoy!) but also Lake Atitlán and its surrounding region.


I will suggest some of my favorite activities here, but at bottom also give you links to sites which describe more about the area from a visitors' perspective. I hope to be able to do some of these with you when you come!

• Admire the lake. As I mentioned in a previous post and as you can see in the photos I posted, the lake is a beautiful work of Creation. You can just look out at it for hours.





• Sample indigenous Mayan culture. Guatemala is approximately half Mayan and half Ladino (or mixed-Spanish) descent, making it one of the most indigenous countries in the western hemisphere. Sololá department, where Lake Atitlán is located, however, is much more indigenous than Ladino. The Lake Atitlán Mayans actually belong to three groups, which are the Tzutuj'il, the Ka'chiquel and the Kíche, each with their own language. Each town and ethnic group has its own special traje típico, or traditional dress, which is used by women and is composed of the huipil, or blouse, corte, or skirt, and faja, or belt. Sometimes this is accompanied by traditional headdress. All of the pieces of clothing are woven by hand with intricate detail and patterns. The Lake Atitlán region is also exceptional in Guatemala because it is one of the few areas in which some men still wear their traditional dress and don't wear Western clothes. Although this is only in a few areas and mostly among older men, you will probably see the men's traje típico as well as the women's while here.



• Hike. I haven't been on a lot of hikes around the lake, but amazing views abound whereever you are. One I can recommend is the walk between Santa Cruz la Laguna and Jaibalito, which later continues on to Tzununá and San Marcos la Laguna. You walk parallel to the lake but a few hundred feet above it, allowing you to enjoy stunning views the entire time if you can get over the vertigo!



• Climb a volcano. I'll admit, I haven't actually climbed any of the three volcanoes that ring the lake, but I have climbed two other volcanoes in Guatemala, one three times, and it's always an exhilarating experience. The volcanoes at the lake are mostly dormant (unlike Volcán Pacaya, near Guatemala City, where you can hike straight to the lava), but are still, I imagine, challenging and rewarding hikes. People generally go up in tour groups from San Pedro la Laguna.



• Visit Santiago Atitlán. This is a town with liberation theology history, thus I love it. Fr. Stanley Rother, a priest from Oklahoma, lived among the poor and did community economic development out of his parish through the creation of cooperatives. But to the harsh military government at the time, he was considered an enemy and killed in 1981. The town also suffered another attack at the hands of the military in 1991 when 13 people were killed in a protest after a drunken soldier attacked some townspeople. But it's not only liberation theology that makes me like the town. It's a relatively large and urban town with plenty to offer, and yet doesn't have a tourist-based economy. It has some of the largest and most unique evangelical churches in Guatemala, like Iglesia Palabra Miel, which started in the town and has spread all throughout the Americas. It is most famous for the worship of Maximón, an "evil saint." I don't go visit him, but I'll leave it up to you if you would like to.



• Shop. You may be bothered by small children or women wanting your business, in which case you just have to ignore them and tell them no. But if you don't try too hard, you can find many interesting, unique things there. Buying an indigenous traje típico is an amazing souvenir (and beautiful clothing), if not cheap. There are also some vendors who mix indigenous with modern styles and make very interesting clothing. If the small children and women vendors get to you, though, head off the main street for a breather.



• Chichicastenango market on Thursdays and Sundays. Here you can really shop and find anything your heart desires, from food to textiles and souvenirs. I bought the only two leather belts I own at this market for about $7.50 each. The town is also famous for religious syncretism between Catholicism and Mayan beliefs, a pattern repeated in many towns but especially so in Chichicastenango. If you're interested in that, you can go at mass time and look inside the church at the many representations of Biblical and Catholic figures.



• Chill out, catch up with friends and enjoy the tranquility of the lake. My favorite thing of all!

Some links:

WikiTravel - Lake Atitlan

Atitlan Sol

Atitlan Nature Reserve

Revue Magazine - Guatemala's English Language Magazine

La Casa Colibri Activities Page

Tentative Schedule of Events

Here is a tentative schedule of events for the wedding weekend so that you can plan your trip and your vacation days accordingly! You are welcome to come to as many or as few of the events as you like, but try to budget some open time to see sights as well - once you get here, you'll realize that there is plenty to do.

Monday, January 9
All day - Day to visit Esquipulas Palo Gordo (town where Patty & I live)

Tuesday, January 10
All day - Day to visit Esquipulas Palo Gordo (town where Patty & I live)
10:45 pm - Parents' flight departs from Los Angeles - Delta Flight 457

Wednesday, January 11
5:24 am - Parents' flight arrives at Guatemala City - Delta Flight 457
Mid-morning - House-arranged shuttle (free) from Guatemala City airport to La Casa Colibri (3 1/2 hours)
Noon - Phil arrives at La Casa Colibri

Thursday, January 12
5:00 pm - Celebration for the American guests

Friday, January 13
2:00 pm - Patty's family arrives
3:30 pm - Wedding rehearsal
7:00 pm - Rehearsal dinner

Saturday, January 14
10:00 am - Day guests arrive
10:00 am - Wedding ceremony
12:00 pm - Wedding reception
4:00 pm - Day guests leave, wedding festivities may continue

Sunday, January 15
12:00 pm - Patty's family leaves
12:00 pm - Bride and groom depart
12:00 pm - One return trip to the airport

Monday, January 16
2:00 pm - Second return trip to the airport / Guatemala City

Tuesday, January 17
7:20 am - Parents' return flight departs from Guatemala City - Delta Flight 458
10:46 am - Parents' return flight arrives in Los Angeles - Delta Flight 458